A civil rights investigation launched amid outrage over the death of Elijah McClain found a pattern of excessive use of force and racial bias within the Aurora Police Department.
On April 20, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder and two other counts related to the May 2020 killing of George Floyd an incident captured in a horrific video that sparked weeks of Black Lives Matter protests across the country, including in Denver.
Following the verdict, numerous prominent Coloradans released statements, including Governor Jared Polis, Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen. One of the most striking takes came from attorney Mari Newman, speaking on behalf of Elijah McClain, an innocent, unarmed 23-year-old Black man who died in August 2019 following what she s characterized as a prolonged and torturous interaction with members of the Aurora Police Department. In her remarks, Newman essentially accused Aurora of shirking responsibility for a crime on par with Chauvin s by protecting the officers whose actions resulted in McClain s death.
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DENVER Elijah McClain would have turned 25 last week. However, in 2019, the introverted Black massage therapist was killed on the street by police in his native Aurora (a part of the Denver metropolitan area). None of the officers involved have faced charges for the incident. Yet the leaders of mass protests against the killing are now facing up to 48 years in prison on a host of charges they see as retaliation for standing up to police power.
Three activists Lillian House, Joel Northam, and Eliza Lucero face a preliminary hearing on March 9. A fourth, Terrence Roberts, is also facing similar, though more minor charges.
Colorado police chief apologizes after release of Elijah McClain report David Matthews
The Aurora, Colo. chief of police apologized Tuesday after an independent investigation into the death of Elijah McClain found the officers who put him into a chokehold and injected him with ketamine did not have any justification to stop or use force to detain him.
McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, died Aug. 30, 2019, six days after he was stopped by police officers while he walked home from a convenience store. The investigation found that “none of the officers articulated a crime that they thought Mr. McClain had committed, was committing or was about to commit” and therefore had no reason to stop and frisk him in the first place.